On 26 December 2004 the UPDF shot, killed and injured a number of civilians at Amida camp. Local people reported that as Christmas drew to a close, a large number of UPDF soldiers went on a drinking spree. The UPDF had spent most of 26 December 2004 at a drinking place owned by a one Peter Oling. At around 7pm an argurement broke out amongst them as to how many civilians or rebels each one of them had killed. As the argurement got heated up, one of the soldiers declared that for him he has so far killed 22 human beings. Whilst another soldier said he had killed 30 people. Others suggested they had been able to kill 10 people in a single day and the revelations continued.
As the argurements continued, Mr Oling informed the UPDF that the alcohol had finished and he could sell them no more. The UPDF then moved out. Som e of them said since they had only killed a few human beings, they needed to add to their number. Shortly afterwards, fierce shooting broke out and it carried on for about 15 minutes. Many thought the LRA had invaded the camp, but this was not the case.
A number of civilians were killed amongst whom were Moses Ocen, Jane Layet plus others. One civilian had a leg amputated following the UPDF attack. As for the UPDF none of the perpetrators were arrested. Instead when there was an outcry by the local people, the UPDF came for Mr. Oling and arrested him for selling alcohol without a license.
UPDF Shoot civilians in Padibe...
On 30 December 2004, at around 10pm, a number of civilians left their "homes" in Padibe camp to rush a pregnant woman to the nearby dispensary. It is customary for the UPDF to impose a night curfew in most camps. In Padibe, such a curfew had NOT been declared but civilians took it for granted that travelling at night carried the risk of being killed by the UPDF.
The civilians, some of whom were identified as Joseph Olweny (Husband), Doreen Akullu (Mrs Olweny and expectant mother) and Ejerina Lawil (mother-in-law) set off towards the dispensary. It was shortly after they had left their homes (carrying kerosene lamps) that they heard gunshots and people started dropping down around them. Those who could speak shouted to the UPDF that they were infact civilians, but the shooting continued. By the time the shooting stopped a number of civilians had been hit. Those who were lucky enough to survive the attack were ferried to St. Joseph's hospital the following day were medical treatment was carried out.
Sources revealed that this was not the first time that the UPDF had shot civilians at Padibe. They note that on 11 October 2004, the UPDF similarly shot many civilians at Padibe including a young girl who had gone to the toilet in he middle of the night. To cover up the atrocity it had committed, the UPDF carried on firing shots well into the night and later claimed civilian casualties were infact people caught up in a cross-fire. The truth though is that the LRA had not been seen in Padibe for much of October 2004 (so there could not have been a fire fight between it and the UPDF).
Anaka too....
In the North, the UPDF considers it a crime (punishable by death) for any civilian to engage in agricultural activity. The UPDF still believes that as food supplies run out in the countryside, the LRA will be starved out of rebellion. The other reason is that, during 2004, the UPDF government made a declaration that all unoccupied land in Northern Ugand a is land belonging to those who would have perished during the war and therefore "right" reverts back to the state. Since that declaration, UPDF hostility towards civilians cultivating the land has intensified even more.
It was against this backdrop that the UPDF found a number of civilians harvesting peas in Onyim-til in Anaka division on 16 February 2005. The UPDF opened fire on them killing 3 instantly with a number of others seriously injured. As reported in a local newspaper, the UPDF accused the civilians of harvesting their crops and providing it to the LRA.
UPDF attack Corner Kilak...
On 16 February 2005, the UPDF descended upon Kilak camp. They took away with them more than 50 youths. At first, the victims did not know what it was the UPDF wanted them for. At the UPDF barracks, it became clear. The UPDF claimed that a number of firearms had gone missing from within its barracks (the UPDF suspected the firearms to have found its way to the LRA). The UPDF then demanded that the 50 or so civilians should tell them who might have been behind the disappearance of the UPDF weapons.
It has to be recognised that civilians in the North have got no access to the UPDF barracks (the wives and children of UPDF soldiers being the only civilians within the UPDF barracks). When the youths expressed no knowledge about the UPDF's claim, that was when the torture began. The civilians were subjected to severe beatings which lasted for hours. The UPDF told them that the only thing that would make the beatings stop is if they would reveal who was behind the disappearance of the UPDF weapons.
After what seemed like a whole morning of beatings, the UPDF then brought the civilians out in the open sun (with mid-afternoon temperatures of over 38 degrees). At sunset, the UPDF told the civilians they were free to go to their homes, but if the UPDF weapons were not found within days, the UPDF was coming back for them.
UPDF terrorise Lango....
In the 7th issue, we reported on how to create enmity between the Acholi and Lango peoples the UPDF had embarked upon the act of terrorising the local population in the name of the LRA. In one instance, the UPDF dressed as the Amuka militia and pretending to speak the Lango language came abducted nearly a dozen civilians from a camp. Their bodies were found a few days later rotting beside a river bank (they had all been killed by the psuedo-LRA).
In January 2005, realising that the bulk of the LRA were not about to sign a "non-agreement", the psuedo-LRA reared its ugly head again in Lango.
According to a local legislator, UPDF soldiers posing as the LRA had terrorised his constituents for much of January. The UPDF began an active campaign of driving people away from their homes. They would urge people to leave their homes with nothing and then set civilian properties on fire. Food stores belonging to civilians were razed to the ground. This the UPDF claimed was to deny the LRA food supplies. For civilians who were reluctant to leave their homes, they were subjected to torture and beatings (and accused of being rebel collaborators).
Then came the last few weeks of January. No rebels had been confirmed in Lira district (not even by the UPDF). Then from nowhere, gunmen claiming to be the LRA emerged from nowhere and came to the legislators home and killed his brother plus other civilians. Keeping to the psuedo-LRA's mode of operation, they travelled from one UPDF detach to another without the UPDF even "lifting a finger".
Observers note, that the only people who would have known about the legislator�s movement would have been the UPDF (for it had been expressly informed). And that the real target was not the legislator's brother, but MP Charles Angiro himself. The MP's crime to the UPDF was that he represented his constituents honestly which went against the UPDF's design for Northern Uganda.
UPDF storm Omiya Anyima
On 15 November 2004, the people of Omiya Nyima received news that the World Food Program had delivered food to the people of Kitgum Matidi and that it was their turn the next day. On the 16 November 2004, everybody in the camp gathered at the venue where food is normally distributed.
It was then the UPDF came and took away a number of civilians. People reported that a UPDF double cabin pick -up truck arrived at Omiya-Nyima camp with about a dozen soldiers, including a captain. The captain held a brief discussion with his troops before ordering them towards the crowd. The UPDF then proceeded and grabbed three youths, dragging them towards the vehicle. One of the young men taken that day was a gentleman by the name of Santo Oketch. The UPDF then sped with the youths in the direction of Nam-Okora. Up to now the youths have not been seen nor heard from again.
Speculation has however continued that this may have been part of a UPDF recruitment exercise. Whilst others have suggested that the UPDF may have needed the young men to extract information (through torture).
"Kula Bantu"...
During the 1993/4 failed peace talks, the LRA's director of military operations, Brig. Otti Lagony explained as follows. He said �if we were to take action against every civilian that reported on our activities to the UPDF or took up arms against our soldiers - watum woko" i.e. translated literally to mean " we would be finishing our own people". He then continued to explain that the LRA never engaged in such activities. Otti's comments were later "doctored" and shown on UTV as saying something like "we acted exceptionally against certain civilians, not all, but we had to stop because otherwise we would be finishing our own people". The subject matter Otti was alluding to, was the horrific injuries inflicted upon civilians in Northern Uganda by unknown gunmen and blamed on the LRA.
Despite the LRA denials, the practise carried on well into the 1990s. But this practise too was to come to a dramatic end as reported on by a Ugandan newspaper as follows:-
"There was the cutting of people's lips, noses, and ears and chopping of legs. This business went on for a long time and the government kept on dramatising it that Kony rebels were behind it. It was not until after two UPDF soldiers were caught red handed slicing people's lips while dressed in rags to appear like rebels, that the business came to an end. From the day those UPDF soldiers were caught up to today nobody has again lost a lip or nose or an ear or a leg in northern Uganda�.
But alas, this was not to be. After the UPDF failed in its attempt to lure the LRA to congregate in one location outside of Uganda in 2001 the practise reared its head again. This time the UPDF ensured body parts ended up in a cooking pot. Then following the failure of the LRA to sign up to a non document in December 2004, civilians travelling along a road had their limps chopped off. On both occasions the message the UPDF wanted to send to its "international constituency" was that it could not engage in talks with the LRA.
According to well a respected international newspaper, in circumstances were the real truth is unclear, posing a simple question always helps to lead to the truth; that question being "who has most to gain?". When the UPDF chopped off body parts and put it in a cooking pot, this was also the time when the LRA where persisting in their demands for a credible peace talks. It was not in the LRA�s interest to engage in such acts. Similarly, in December 2004 when the LRA sought more time (further negotiation) over the UPDF�s ceasefire document, it was not in its interest to carry out such acts. The party which clearly stood out to benefit was the UPDF. The UPDF never believed in the peace talks. Those attacks served its interest by proving to its wavering friends that �you cannot talk to the LRA �.
And Finally�
According to a British research paper, when the UPDF entered Northern Uganda, they had an anthem (song) of which words translated as follows:- when you reach Kumi, you bomb; when you reach Soroti, you bomb; when you reach Lira, you bomb; when you reach Apac, you bomb; when you reach Gulu/Kitgum, you burn down completely.
That to this day Northern Uganda is burning (with all its inhabitants at the mercy of the UPDF in the camps) is no accident. It was a UPDF design from the very first day. If this were happening any where else in Africa, the UPDF would have long been charged with genocide � but this is Uganda.
Until next time, Jok Joka malo.
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